Often times, a user authoring a document wishes to modify some data in the document through the use of a dialog window. For example, if the user wishes to replace a word in a phrase and to change the formatting of the phrase to an italicized larger font, then the user replaces the existing word with a new word and reformats the phrase using the tools supplied by the application program that manages the document (typically a word processing application program). In some prior systems, these actions are performed in two separate steps. First, the user modifies the textual content typically by deleting the existing word and replacing it by a new one or by typing over a selected word. Second, the user selects the phrase and invokes a formatting command to request formatting changes, typically provided by a menu or by a dialog window. For example, in the Microsoft Word for Windows 2.0 product, the user invokes the Format Character dialog window from the menu bar to change the font attributes of the selected phrase.
A dialog window is a window that displays dialog fields to provide the user with information and to enable the user to input information and data to the underlying application program. Typically, the information and input capabilities provided by the dialog window relate to the context from which the dialog window was invoked. For example, when the Format Character dialog is invoked as described above, the input choices and information provided relate to data that was selected prior to invoking the dialog. In a typical window system, dialog windows are invoked from menu commands or by clicking with a user input device, such as a mouse, in specific areas on the computer display.
In a typical computer window system environment, the dialog fields displayed in a dialog window are implemented by dialog controls supplied by the underlying system (e.g., the window system, operating system, or other similar code). For example, some computer systems support standard dialog controls such as a button for specifying an action to perform; a check box, or similar control, for specifying a choice of n out of m items; a radio button, or similar control, for specifying a choice of one out of m items; a list control for displaying a list of choices; and edit controls for inputting data (typically text). In these prior systems, edit controls typically include three types: a single-line edit control, which allows the user to enter text in a single predetermined font not exceeding one line; a multi-line edit control, which allows the user to enter multiple lines of text in a single predetermined font; and display-only single- and multi-line "edit" controls, which display text without edit capability.
FIG. 1 is an example dialog window in the Microsoft Word for Windows 2.0 product that contains several types of dialog fields. Specifically, FIG. 1 shows display screen 101 displaying an underlying user document entitled "WFWDEMO.DOC" being edited in document window 102. The Summary Info dialog window 103 is displayed in response to the user selecting the Summary Info command from the File menu on the document window 102. The Summary Info command allows users to enter document summary information pertaining to the underlying user document.
The Summary Info dialog window 103 is shown containing several different fields that can be implemented using the dialog control types discussed above. For example, the File Name and Directory fields 104 can be implemented using display-only single-line "edit" controls. Also, the Title, Subject, Author, and Keywords fields 105 can be implemented using a single-line edit control. The Comments field 106 is an example of a multiple line edit field that can be implemented using a multi-line edit control. The "OK," "Cancel," and "Statistics" buttons 107 can be implemented using button controls.
FIG. 2 is an example dialog window in the Microsoft Word for Windows 2.0 product that contains dialog fields that can be implemented using other types of dialog controls. Specifically, the Page Setup dialog window 203 is displayed in response to the user invoking the Page Setup command from the Format menu on the document window 202. The Page Setup dialog window 203 contains a radio button field 204 for selecting which page attributes to modify; the Facing Pages field 205; which can be implemented using a check box control; and other fields, such as the "Apply To" list field 206, which can be implemented by combining other controls or by implementing more specialized controls. The Page Setup dialog window 203 also contains the Sample field 207, which can be implemented by drawing a picture in the dialog window. This kind of picture is sometimes referred to as a picture item.